Will a female president really change anything for ordinary women?

As I walked through Sydney at 5am this morning on my way to work, I thought about how momentous the next 12 hours could be for women. Yes, the world has seen female prime ministers, female bosses at the top of the biggest companies, but — as Hillary Clinton said herself — we're yet to smash that last remaining glass ceiling and see a woman calling the shots in the Oval Office. That could all change by this afternoon, history could finally be made.

Waiting for the lights to change, my mind was immediately jolted back to reality. The man next to me — heading to work too, clearly had other things on his mind. "Nice legs", he said and winked at me. His mate then joined in and starting leering at me, commenting on every part of my body: from my chest to my lips as I glared back, trying to think of something witty to say rather than just "F--- off".

In those few seconds I realised something: even if Clinton wins this election, we still have a long way to go to stop the sexism that makes ordinary women like me feel uncomfortable on the street. Because, the outcome of the election won't change the attitudes of men like that overnight. Sadly, they probably won't wake up tomorrow morning and realise that women are so much more than objects to stare at and intimidate with pathetic, derogatory statements about the way they look. No, they'll probably wake up, refuse to even acknowledge the news from the States and find another woman to shame on the way to work.

If this bitter and twisted election campaign has taught us anything as women, it's that misogyny is alive and well in 2016. Trump's career is littered with horrific slurs that should have stopped him from ever running for president, let alone ending up on the Republican ticket. And Bill Clinton, America's potential new first man, isn't exactly squeaky clean: he still has sexual assault allegations to answer.

So, before we get carried away and put the hopes and dreams of half the world's population on one woman's shoulders, let's remember this if Clinton wins: Yes, this election outcome may have been a long time coming and yes, it's a huge victory for feminism, but we still have a long way to go until women and men are equal in everyone's eyes.